CRISIS OF FAITH

Crisis of Faith


In the August 23, 2007 issue of TIME, there appeared an article by David Van Biema that explained to an unaware (and shocked) public the crisis of faith that Mother Teresa experienced in her life. A new book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday), consisted primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors. It was her wish that these letters be destroyed but her wish was overruled by her church. The book’s editor explains that for the last 50 years of her life she felt no presence of God whatsoever, “neither in her heart or in the eucharist”!

It seems this “absence” began at the time she began tending the poor and dying in Calcutta. While cheery in public, Teresa lived in a state of deep and abiding spiritual pain and in these letters she bemoans the “dryness”, “loneliness” and “torture” she experienced even comparing the experience to hell and at one point proclaiming it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. “The smile” is “a mask” or “a cloak that covers everything.”

After 17 years of teaching in Calcutta, she was traveling to a retreat in the Himalayas when she claimed she heard the voice of Christ speak to her. She was told to abandon teaching and work instead in “the slums” of the city, dealing with “the poorest of the poor”. “Come, Come, carry Me into the holes of the poor,” Christ told her. “Come be My light.” She was “to help them live their lives with dignity {and so} encounter God’s infinite love, and having come to know Him, to love and serve Him in return.”

As the mission work flourished and gained the attention of the world and her church, Teresa progressed from confessor to confessor the way some patients move through their psychoanalysts (words of Van Biema). She developed a kind of shorthand of pain, referring almost casually to “my darkness” and to Jesus as “the Absent One”.

AMERICA’S Martin says, “Who would have thought that the person who was considered the most faithful woman in the world struggled like that with her faith?” he asks? “And who would have thought that the one thought to be the most ardent of believers could be a saint to the skeptics?”

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As I read this TIME article, I was saddened by the fact that this lady who was the personification of “good works” felt the need to use her smile to hide her true feelings or to use her forced happy demeanor as a “cloak that covers everything”. I was reminded of a recent radio broadcast called THE WHITE HORSE INN that I tune in on a regular basis at www.whitehorseinn.org.! One of the members of the broadcast group went with microphone in hand to a “Christian” convention (I think it was Christian Booksellers) and asked numerous people: “If you die with unconfessed sin, will you go to heaven”? Not one single person that was interviewed had ANY assurance of their salvation. I heard comments like: “I’m a good person so I hope I will” or “I’ve tried to live for God so I hope the Lord will look favorably upon me”! Several were brutally honest and simply said, “I don’t know”! One often used comment was that “God looks at the heart” ( these folks had obviously overlooked Matthew 15:19-20: For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man)! Believe me, the last thing any of us should desire is for God to look at the heart … that is terrible news!

These were “Christians” mind you and they were at a “Christian” convention.

Reading the story of Mother Teresa in TIME caused me to have the same sickening and sad feeling I had when I heard the broadcast of THE WHITE HORSE INN!

Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic and the folks at the convention were Protestants yet when it all percolates down … there seems to be no difference! Each displays a crisis of faith or even more … a crisis of Biblical illiteracy. The symbol of the Roman Catholic faith is a cross with a dead Jesus still nailed upon it and the symbol of the Protestant faith is an empty cross because Jesus is resurrected. Catholic theology teaches that grace is infused by baptism and Protestants (at least some) understand that grace is imputed through faith. To a Catholic the instrumental means (causality) of salvation is baptism and to a Protestant the instrumental means (causality) of salvation is faith alone.

How could the net result of belief (either Roman or Protestant) be the exact same thing: hopelessness and meaninglessness and a feeling that one must “smile” or act happy in order to hide how miserable Christ has made you!

This is why I have a blog … so that I can write down what is on my mind in the hope that matters will be clarified to me or that those who read this will at least think!

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I realize that many who read this are not believers … and that is great. Just please bear with me as I try (for my own sake) to work through this thing and try to figure out how so many “believers” can be so empty and uninformed.

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THE HISTORICAL JESUS:

Jesus was a real person of history. There are probably more historical writings to verify his existence than any other person who every lived. These sources are not just “Christian” but “non-Christian” historians also, e.g. the works of Flavius Josephus.

He was seen by many after the resurrection as is stated in Matthew 15:19-20: After that He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. One may disagree as to what He was doing, but one cannot disagree as to whether He was a real person of history.

I recently had a conversation with a highly educated person about Christianity. He informed me that he was an “agnostic”. I told him that I appreciated his honesty, but then I asked him if he were agnostic about any other event or person of history other than Christ. He looked puzzled! I asked him if he were “agnostic” about the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada (I don’t know how I remembered this from my history classes) or if he were agnostic about Alexander the Great. I explained that there are no persons alive who were eyewitnesses nor are there any DVD’s available to rent with “actual” footage. The only thing we have to verify most of history is the written word, I reminded him. I further explained that if he were “agnostic” about the Christ of history, then he would also have to be agnostic about ALL OF HISTORY, to be intellectually honest.

Christ is not a myth or fable. He is a real person of history! The apostle Peter (an eyewitness) writes in 2 Peter 1:16: For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses to his majesty.

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Let’s look at the basics of Christianity.

SIN

The big problem we all face is sin, but this is a word that no one wants to talk about … we would rather say “dysfunction”. Scripture teaches that when Adam sinned, sin entered the world. When sin entered the world, disease and death also entered the world. As a result, we are all under the dominion of sin and death and we are helpless in and of ourselves to fight it or to stop it. Look at yourself in the mirror today and then look at a photograph of yourself taken about 10 years ago. Do you notice the difference? You are growing older and you will eventually die. This fact can cause one to be severely depressed, whether one is concerned with one’s own death or all of the death and destruction we see everyday through the media. In Scripture, death is a curse of God and it is not a celebration (I have left strict instructions that upon my death if anyone is caught celebrating they are to be drawn and quartered)! I want people to grieve when I die … not celebrate!

Sin is described by the Shorter Catechism as “any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God”

Romans 14:23 says that: Everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Romans 3: 10-12 says: As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

The apostle Paul best describes the struggle a Christian faces with the power of sin: For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. And further: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice (Romans 7:15; 18-19).

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THE HOLINESS OF GOD

Here’s the part that no one likes to hear! God does not grade on a curve, he demands total righteousness and holiness. In the survey that I mentioned at the beginning, I think that all of the doubters knew this fact implicitly. Because of this, they were hesitant to say whether or not they would go to heaven if they died with unconfessed sin in their lives.

God says in His Word in 1 Peter1: 15-16: but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

One can see here that there is a major problem. God commands us to be holy and righteous (not just good) and we are helpless against our sin … even if we try to stop.

Keep reading, that bad news is worse than you thought!

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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
(THE LAW OF GOD)

In Scripture there are two things that we must differentiate. We must know the difference between the INDICATIVE and the IMPERATIVE. Simply put, the indicative is a statement of fact or doctrine and the imperative is law or commands. One states and one commands! Get the picture? Because of our sin, we hate doctrine and we love law. Like Mike Horton of Westminster Seminary jokingly states, “Just give us 3 easy steps on how to be righteous … we want more law”!

In Exodus 20 one finds a listing of the 10 Commandments (which is imperative) and I am sure that anyone reading this has seen the 10 Commandments posted in all sorts of places, but have you ever wondered why the indicative before the list is always left off?

Exodus 20:1-2: And God spoke all these words saying: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

This indicative is the doctrine or statement of fact as to why God has the right to speak to the nation of Israel the commands He is about to list. He brought them out of bondage and out of the land of Egypt. They did not bring themselves. When I read this, I am always reminded of my younger years when my father would not allow me to do something that I really wanted to do. Upon my asking why I had to comply with his prohibition, he would simply say, “ Because I am your father”! Now that’s indicative!

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself any graven image.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

Any sin you can think of is covered in these 10 commands. They are all inclusive!

But we’re right back to the same problem! How are we going to keep these commandments when we are helpless sinners? Good question!

God commands and demands total holiness for us to ever be in His presence, so the best I can figure is that we have two choices to ponder:
1. Our righteousness or
2. The righteousness of another.

If you plan to go before the Holy God of the Universe based upon your own righteousness, well then, good luck to you! Being a good person is not good enough. Being a nice guy is not good enough. Taking casseroles to widows is not good enough. Let’s look what Scripture says.

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Galatians 2:16 – Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW NO FLESH SHALL BE JUSTIFIED.

Even if you kept the Law (10 Commandments) perfectly, it is not good enough! By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Say this to yourself over and over so you will not forget it. In summary on this point, the purpose of the Law is to remove any pretense that you can earn your righteousness. Firstly, you cannot keep it AND, lastly, even if you COULD keep the Law (10 Commandments) perfectly, it is not good enough. Imagine the treadmill of a life that would be!

By now, I hope you see that choice #1 above (our righteousness) is the wrong answer and #2 is correct. The verse from Galatians 2:16 gave away the answer – faith in Christ! We cannot keep the law, but Christ DID it on our behalf. We are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3) and his righteousness is PERFECT and acceptable to God for He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (2 Peter 1: 17). God sees Christ and not us!

So if you ever doubt that you are living the “Christian life”, you would be correct! That is why you should have doubt in yourself and your ability to be righteous. You are not and cannot be righteous before God except for the covering of Christ. It is Christ that is righteous, we are NOT! I am reminded of the young husband who was sulking around the house when his wife inquired as to what was the matter. He replied, “I feel like a failure!” She exclaimed, “But, Honey, you ARE a failure.” He then exclaimed, “Well, great then, now I’m cured.”

Remember, you are a failure! OK! Now you’re cured.

Remember … the Law (the 10 Commandments) removes all pretense that you can earn your salvation, but Moralism returns that pretense with a vengeance.

More verses to better clarify.

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Romans 3:21-23: BUT NOW the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:28: Therefore we conclude that a man is justified apart from the deeds of the law.

Romans 4: 5-8: But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Romans 7:6 : But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

Romans 10:3-4: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

Galatians 2: 21 : I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Galatians 3: 2 : This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Galatians 3:13 : Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”)

Galatians 4: 4 : But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 5: 1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 6:14: But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Now, having read through all of these verses, I am sure that one would wonder what is the purpose of the law.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW

Galatians 3: 21-25: Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

(When I was in grade school, my mother forced me to take piano lessons. My teacher, Miss Pendegrast, would sit next to me at the piano bench with a ruler in her hand. Whenever I made a mistake (which was frequently) she would slap my hand with the ruler and yell at me “get it right”! This is what I envision when I think of the law’s role as a tutor. It slaps our wrists with a ruler whenever we try to use the law as a tool to forge out our own righteousness.)

The reformers (John Calvin) crystallized for the church’s benefit the threefold use of the law: ( this comes from the New Geneva Study Bible, pg. 259)

1. Its first function is to be a mirror reflecting to us both the perfect righteousness of God and our own sinfulness and shortcomings. As Augustine wrote, “the law bids us, as we try to fulfill its requirements, and become wearied in our weakness under it, to know how to ask the help of grace.” The law gives knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:13; 7:7-11) and shows us our need of pardon and our danger of damnation in order to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ (Gal. 3:19-24)
2. A second function, the “civil use”, is to restrain evil. Though the law cannot change the heart, it can inhibit lawlessness by its threats of judgment, especially when backed by a civil code that administers punishment for proven offenses. It secures civil order, and serves to protect the righteous from the unjust.
3. The third function is to guide the regenerate into the good works that God has planned for them (Eph. 2:10). The Christian is free from the law as a system of salvation (as I have argued previously), but Christ was speaking of this third use when He said that those who become His disciples must be taught to do all that He had commanded (Matt.28:20), and that obedience to His commands will prove the reality of one’s love for Him (John 14:15).

The reformers have shown us that in Scripture we see “The Law” and “Gospel”. The law kills, demands, destroys, removes all pretense that we deserve anything and brings us to total helplessness. But everything that the law demands, God gives freely in the Gospel. The law is written on our hearts ( we know when we do wrong), but the Gospel has to be declared. It has to be preached into us every Lord’s Day because it is so contrary to our nature! The Law is imperative and the Gospel is indicative, but there are preachers everywhere who try to convince their congregations that the Gospel is law (in other words we have to do something)!

We do not need programs in our churches, all we need is Law and Gospel! The Law kills us (and has our attention because it is written on our hearts – Romans 2:15) and the Gospel gives life through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Law without the gospel is brutality and the Gospel without the Law is silliness. We must know why we need the Gospel. I am not fabricating all of this, this is what the Reformers taught when they protested the abuses of the Roman church and its sacerdotalism (priest worship).

We do not need to hear sermons on how we can use the Gospel to give us recovery from our dysfunction (law). We do not need to hear sermons with three easy steps to being a better daddy, a better husband, a better manager of our finances or a better employee (more law). We do not need to hear sermons that warn us not to “smoke, dip, drink or chew or hang around with girls that do” (even more law). We do not need cute little talks about how we can have “Our Best Life Now”! We need to hear Christ and Him crucified. Period!

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THE OLD TESTAMENT IS ABOUT JESUS

The Bible is about Christ. Adam got it wrong and failed to hold up his end of the covenant of works in the garden and all of the other examples of characters (Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David) are just other Adams who got it wrong until the last Adam, Christ, finished what the Father sent Him to accomplish. We do not need to hear, therefore, sermons about how we should emulate these “characters”, but rather we need to hear sermons about Christ who is our Redeemer because of his life, death and resurrection and that He has ransomed us from our sin debt and has propitiated the wrath of the Father against us. His work was perfect and we rest in Him alone. “It is finished”!

It has been said that the New Testament is the world’s greatest commentary on the Old Testament. Christ is in the shadows in the OT but is brought to light in the NT. This is called the “type” and the “anti-type”! Whether one is reading in the OT or the NT, one should see Christ:

John 1:45 – Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
(Moses is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and the prophets are the rest of the OT). So in other words they were saying, “We have found Him of whom the Old Testament is about.”

Acts 9: 30-35 – So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not his mouth.
In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth”
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. (In other words, Philip explained that Isaiah 53: 7-8, part of the Old Testament, was about Christ.).

Luke 24:25-27 – Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (On the road to Emmaus when Jesus walked up to some disciples after His resurrection and they did not recognize him, he finally revealed Himself to them and then explained that the OT [Moses and the Prophets] was about Him).

John 5:39 – You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life: and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (Jesus in speaking to the Pharisees telling them that they are Bible centered but not Christ centered. Their Scripture was the Old Testament and Jesus explained to them that they failed to see Him in their Scripture, the OT).

These are but a few of the verses and prophesies of the Old Testament that show Christ. THE BIBLE IS ABOUT CHRIST. IT IS NOT CUTE LITTLE STORIES OF EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE THAT WE CAN USE IN OUR SEARCH FOR SELF-FULFILLMENT. If you see anything other than Christ … you have missed it!

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Polytheism

Have you ever heard it stated that “you need to choose Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior”? I heard this all my life as ministers in churches would work hard to manipulate the emotions of the congregation by singing dozens of verses of “Just As I Am” or “All To Jesus I Surrender”. They would keep on and on until finally someone came down front to “accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior”! I grew up thinking that this was the essence of Christianity and it wasn’t until I was much older that I came to a better understanding.

You see, America is very much like ancient Rome in that we are a polytheistic society and we are free to have our own “personal” gods. As a matter of fact, America is very much like ancient Rome in many other ways, but that is another story for another time! Many people in Rome had statues of gods in their homes … the more the merrier. Jesus (and the God of Abraham) was just another god to them. It wasn’t until they learned about the exclusivity of Christianity that things started heating up. For a while, Christianity was just a part of the religion of the Jews and did not seem to pose a problem, but later things got heated. Why do you think Paul was in chains for so long and wrote the majority of his work from prisons? The apostles died horrible deaths … not because they presented Jesus as just another deity from which to choose – as one of many ways, but because they preached that He was the ONLY way (Acts 4:12).

Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior. ( Isaiah 43:10b)

Of idol worship He says:

Indeed you are nothing,
And your work is nothing;
He who chooses you is an abomination. (Isaiah 41:24)

I have been studying Scripture and being instructed by great teachers for a long time now and I do not see ANYWHERE IN SCRIPTURE any language that presents Jesus as a personal Lord and Savior, but I see PLENTY of language that speaks of Him as THE Lord and Savior.

If you present Jesus as just another choice ( like shopping for detergent at Wal-Mart) then no one will be angry with you and you can keep all your friends, but if you present the Jesus of Scripture as the only choice … then you will have a fight on your hands. Don’t believe me … try it!

People are always telling me that I am opinionated! To which I reply, “Oh, is that YOUR
opinion!”

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THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS


My church recently had a missionary report to us that in a country in Africa where a Church had been planted, the Christians there are being heavily persecuted. After a service one Sunday morning, soldiers met them at the door and forced some of them to wear large baskets (that were used as portable toilets) on their heads and to march around in the hot sun. Others were placed in wooden crates in 100 plus degree heat and left in the heat for hours at the time. I asked myself why Christianity is so offensive to so many people around the world. These worshippers were then told that if they would just sign a statement stating that they would reject the name of Christ and never worship Him again, they would be allowed to go free and be left alone. Why, again I asked myself, do people hate Christianity so terribly much?

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (1 Peter 4:14)

First, I think, is the exclusivity of Christ. There is no other way to God except through the mediation of Christ. Because God is Holy and we are unholy (Rev. 3:17), we cannot approach Him based on our own righteousness. We are like gasoline and he is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The only way we are allowed to approach God is based on the righteousness of another (Christ)! Think about the difference in the words mediate vs. immediate (without mediation).

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:35-36).

Second, we Americans do not want to be told that we cannot do everything ourselves. We want to be responsible for our salvation – we want to “earn” our way into God’s presence. After all, we are all sweet, nice and basically good people and all we need is a little good advice to help us be better and then of course, God will have to accept us. We do not want to be told that we are “worms” or “sinners”!

And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. (Philippians 3:9)

Third, all of this Jesus stuff seems foolish to the enlightened minds of our age. We have college degrees and much understanding of scientific data. We are far too intelligent to fall for all these myths of Christ – like the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy!

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (I Corinthians 1:18)

To the Greeks (pagans) the Cross was foolishness, to the Jews it is a stumbling block and to Americans it is both!

For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. (Romans 9:32)

This offense is not just exhibited in those protagonists of the Gospel, but even more so, I think, in those who are supposedly entrusted with delivering the Gospel … churches! As I have explained earlier, the Law is written on the hearts of mankind – so we know when we do wrong! We KNOW that we cannot keep the 10 commandments, so there is a tendency to create a set of laws that we know we can keep – such as the prohibition against drinking, smoking, playing cards and dancing! We even brag that we don’t “smoke, dip, drink or chew or hang around with girls that do”! This neo-nomianism is our way of snubbing the exclusivity of Christ, by once more thinking that our keeping of these new rules is what endears us to our Creator! We can stop smoking or drinking but we find it impossible to “love our neighbors as ourselves” (the summation of the Law)! I have seen many a so-called Christian boast of his or her “tea- totaler” righteousness. Of course, they can abuse prescription drugs like Valium, Xanax or hydrocodone, but they certainly do not drink or smoke. Are you getting the picture? We love law and are born opposed to Grace. We are forever opposed to anything that denies our fickle self-earned righteousness.

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (Colossians 1: 28)

You say, ‘ I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Rev. 3: 17)

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SAVED FROM WHAT

Have you ever been approached by someone who wants to “save” you? Next time this happens, simply ask the person “Saved from what?” and you will get a zillion different answers. I have often wondered why someone is trying to save me when they have not even taken the time to understand what they are trying to save me from. There are those who teach that Hell is the absence of God and Heaven is the presence of God for all eternity - don’t believe them! There will be many who will wish that they could be removed from the presence of God. The truth of Scripture is that we ALL have an eternal relationship with God – some will spend eternity in the face of God in His Wrath and others will spend eternity in the face of God in His Grace, but every person will spend eternity in the presence of God. You see, the truth of Scripture is that Satan is NOT your problem – God is your problem! If Christ did not bear on the Cross the penalty for YOUR sin, they YOU will bear it for all eternity. Read chapters 17 through 19 in the Gospel of John to get a good understanding of Christ and the Cross.

And he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)

Satan was cast from the presence of God and has no sovereign power so, as I stated, Satan is not your problem. Satan can only steal the joy of salvation but cannot take your salvation. God is your problem! At the end of time, Satan will be one’s brother in Hell – not one’s tormentor. He is a liar and the father of lies! He will be cast into the lake of fire like all other unbelievers.

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20: 14-15)

Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth. (Galatians 4:16)

Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. (Proverbs 12:1)

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WORSHIP




Maybe, by now, the reader of this could be thinking that this is all serious stuff but when I go to a church all is hear is silly stuff. I see rock bands, protracted amateurish efforts at entertainment and pretty much the exact same thing I get in the culture. Sadly, this discovery is true. The church is filled with rot and it nauseates me. I get sick and tired of hearing self-help sermons on how I can be better at doing or being something … i.e. good advice! I don’t want ANY MORE ADVICE! I need a savior! Dysfunction and recovery is not my issue – it is much worse! My problem is my helplessness against sin. I agree with the apostle Paul when he said that the good he desired, he didn’t do and the evil that he abhorred, he did anyway. We are wretched people living in these bodies of death. Who will rescue us? Certainly not loud music or snow cones and pony rides!
The law is seared into my consciousness but the Gospel has to be preached into me every Lord’s day. Most churches do not do this because they are so involved with programs and giving advice. They are telling the masses what their itching ears want to hear and people will surround themselves with these false teachers.

Keep searching for a true Church where Word, Sacrament and Discipline are rightly administered. Where every Lord’s Day, God’s people are summoned together to hear the Good News (not advice) and where there is a diversity of folks not drawn together by their felt needs, but rather by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Man has been attempting to climb up to God since our creation but this is not possible. So God dressed up like one of us in Christ and came down to us. Every Lord’s day, in true worship services, the same thing happens again when the Word (Scripture) comes to us through the sinful lips of man (preacher) and we receive it. We do not DO ANYTHING, we just receive. And through this preaching, Christ is proclaimed through the exegesis of Scripture.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3: 16)

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 22-25)

Then,

We receive this Word and then rise and go back to our vocations where we are a mask for God. We do our good works for our fellow man – not for God, as if God needed anything! “God doesn’t need our good works – our neighbors do”, so says Luther. Do not get hung up on trying to find your personal ministry. It is your pastor’s vocation to serve to you Word and Sacrament and it is your job to receive it. Try not to gum things up by stopping the flow of Grace with your dam of personal ministry fulfillment. It has been said, “Don’t just do something, sit there!”

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (Romans 8:1)

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REDEDICATION

There will certainly come a time when the Evil One will have you convinced that the righteousness of Christ is not good enough for God and you must add some of your own efforts to His finished work. Christ’s suffering on the Cross was a great sacrifice but your added efforts are really what makes it all worthwhile, or so Satan will inform you! Once again, don’t believe this.

This guilt placement will not come to you through some ugly creature with horns and a big tail, but rather through a “minister”! He will convince you with soft-music, soft-lights and 50 verses of “Just As I Am” to come down front to rededicate your back-slidden life to God, because after all, you efforts are really what matters.

Here are two words of the Christian faith you must understand to avoid confusion on this issue: Justification and Sanctification! I will define these words from The Shorter Catechism.

Justification: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all of our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

In other words, God has declared believers to be righteous – not their own righteousness but rather the righteousness of Christ. Believers are forever freed from the PENALTY of sin. This is a declaration of God and we are not involved in ANY WAY!

Sanctification: Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

This is telling us that we walk hand-in-hand with our Father and live the Christian life of gradually freeing ourselves from the POWER of sin. It is our desire to be more like Christ. It has been said that this is unanesthesized earthly surgery because it is so painful. We desire to live a life worthy of our calling! If you are a drug addict, alcoholic or whatever – you have been changed and your desire is now for the Lord. Mortifying our addictions and ruinous behaviors is hard work but it is the Christian life on earth. Sanctification is only what believers go through and in no way does this process nullify your justification. Remember, the work for your justification was done totally and completely by God through Christ and Christ is also the source of your sanctification process.

THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO REDEDICATE YOUR FICKLE EFFORTS AT BEING RIGHTEOUS! When you go through these times, just focus on the Cross and remember that He was the perfect and complete payment for your sin.

In addition, The Shorter Catechism defines sin as any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God. But remember, as a believer, your sin can no longer condemn you!

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BACK TO TERESA

Also, in the Catechism is asked the question: What is the chief end of man? The answer is that man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. But most Christians spend more time glorifying themselves and their efforts and God becomes a tyrant instead of a source of enjoyment.

At the beginning of this writing, I explained that the article in TIME of August 23, 2007 about Mother Teresa’s crisis of faith was the motivating factor for my thoughts. I explained how she developed a kind of shorthand of pain and referred casually to “my darkness” and that Jesus was “the Absent One”!

As Martin stated, “Who would have thought that the person who was considered the most faithful woman in the world struggled like that with her faith? And who would have thought that the one thought to be the most ardent of believers could be a saint to skeptics?”

Teresa obviously did not understand the chief end of man (1 Corinthians 10:31) or (Psalm 73:25)!

Oh, that she could have had the Gospel preached into her every Lord’s Day and that she could have really known that we live in a fallen world and that we are helpless against the wages of sin.